Photo Courtesy of Looney Tunes Music and More
The very first beat of Ethan Torchio’s drums on the first track “OWN MY MIND” of Måneskin’s new album “RUSH!” captivates listeners with its seductively dark punk rock tempo, lyrics and sound, making it nearly impossible to not fully feel each and every beat on the highly anticipated third studio album.
Released on Friday, Jan. 20, the Italian rock band’s album title vocalizes the hectic life the group has led during their recent rise to the global spotlight after winning the Eurovision competition in 2021 with their song “Zitti e buoni.”
A major difference between the 17-song track list of “RUSH!” and any of their previous albums is not only more songs than they have had on an album before, but also the frequency of their songs written and sung in English. Fourteen of the 17 tracks are in English, while only three remain in their native Italian. In Måneskin’s previous albums, which typically featured a maximum of 12 tracks, over half of the songs were primarily in Italian.
The emotional depth in each of Måneskin’s influx of English songs on “RUSH!” is unparalleled to any of their previous songs sung in English compared to Italian.
The single “MAMMAMIA” released way back in Oct. 2021, well before knowledge of “RUSH!” was public, hinted at Måneskin’s take on a punk-rock sound. The pre-album release of “GOSSIP,” featuring Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, fully solidified their musical adjustment to a richer, grittier punk sound.
Since the album’s release, critics have been hailing “KOOL KIDS” as sounding more like British punk, which the BBC describes as transforming lead singer Damiano David into an “Italianate version of Johnny Rotten.” David shared with BBC how the band wanted it to be a grittier bar anthem, “so I got drunk on purpose, and I shouted as hard as I can.”
There is not a single song on this album that sounds unattractive. The power of David’s vocals paired with Torchino’s fastest drum rhythms yet, Victoria De Angelis’ powerful bass underlying the entire work and Thomas Raggi’s intense guitar solos, especially in the intro to the power ballad “THE LONELIEST,” makes this album a true masterpiece.
While the abrupt transition from the grittiness of “KOOL KIDS” to the softness of “IF NOT FOR YOU” is jarring, the most substantial critique of “RUSH!” is the addition of three singles that have been out cumulatively for more than a year tacked on at the end in chronological order of release. The songs themselves are great, but the organization of them into the tracklist felt like they were a hasty decision to include.
The gritty punk tone present throughout “GASOLINE” hypnotizes listeners to want to rock. The knowledge that the song took inspiration from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and was released as a benefit for the relief efforts of Global Citizens Fund vastly strengthens its musical power and the human connection spawning from it.
“MARK CHAPMAN” is the highlight of the three Italian tracks and has the fastest beats per minute of any of their previous songs. It tells of the profound idolization and obsession Mark David Chapman had with the Beatles, written from the assumed perspective of John Lennon, who died at the hands of Chapman in 1980.
“RUSH!” by Måneskin is yet another work of musical artistry, growing their repertoire from Italian rock to English punk rock and British punk. The album debuted at No. 1 on iTunes charts in over 20 countries and is available for streaming.
